The Death of Annie the Water Witcher by Lightning

by Audrey J. Whitson

Three years into the second millennium, Majestic, Alberta is a farm town dealing with depressed crop prices, international borders closing to Canadian beef, and a severe drought. Older farmers worry about their way of life changing while young people concoct ways to drugs, partying, moving away. Even the church is on the brink of closing. When local woman Annie Gallagher is struck by lightning while divining water for a well, stories of the town's past, including that of Annie and the grandmother who taught her water witching, slowly pour forth as everyone gathers for her funeral. Told through the varied voices of the townspeople and Annie herself, The Death of Annie the Water Witcher by Lightning reveals Majestic to be a complex character in its own right, both haunted and haunting. Here, Audrey J. Whitson has written a novel of hard choices and magical necessity.

Genres: Literary Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an intriguing piecewise narrative of Annie, the book’s titular character, from the perspective of the townspeople of Majestic (and occasionally Annie herself). While it was interesting in some ways—particularly in how it depicts the life of people in a small rural, aging town of mostly farmers as they face a downturn in agriculture (partially due to BSE)—I felt that the mystical/fantastical aspects of this novel (Annie, literally a "water witcher") were at odds with the heavy presence of Catholicism in each page, and the story ultimately did not really resonate with me.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was missing any emotional connection to the characters and glossed over stories that deserved more detail. It felt disjointed and bogged down with Catholic rituals. Disappointing.